Best Friends For Never
by TheCalligrapher1
Summary: Paine never could have imagined being friends with Rikku. How did they meet and what led up to them being in the Gullwings? K for now but will eventually be M. Later Rikku/Gippal Paine/Baralai Paine/Gippal
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Whenever I get writers block I writes something else. So while I was working on Two Worlds Apart this suddenly came to me about how Rikku and Paine even met in the first place and how they lost touch. The first chapter is pretty short but chapter two is in the works.

Best Friends For Never

Chapter One

She didn't want to be here. She wanted to go home. She wanted her mom and dad. She wanted Dona. But they were all gone. Dona was at the temple. Why was it that she had to be everywhere but where she was. She wanted her mom back from the farplane. She wanted her dad to come back from where ever he had gone. Why did everyone have to abandon her? Now she was stuck here at this school in the middle of the Bikanil Desert and she had no friends or family.

Sitting at her desk she watched all the other little kids playing. There was a little blonde girl with pigtails and she was the center of attention. Everyone always wanted to play with her. She remembered her first day at Bikanil Community School. Rikku had run up to her and started blubbering on about something and Paine had simply walked away. Rikku never tried to talk to her again after that. And that was all well and good because Paine didn't want any friends. She wanted her life to be the way it was. They way it was before Sin had destroyed everything in her life.

"Paine?" One of the afternoon aides had appeared before her waving their hand in her face. "Paine? Honey, I need you to come with me. I need you to come with me right now, ok?"

Immediately she knew that something was really wrong. Something just wasn't right. Why did this woman want her to go with her and where were they going?

Reluctantly, Paine rose and followed the woman out of the classroom. She had a look of pity on her face and Paine absolutely hated it when people felt sorry for her. So what if Yevon had dealt her some bad cards, sometimes chimeras eat your baby. What can you do?

When they arrived at the front office the principal, vice-principal, the councilor and her social worker were all waiting for her. "Paine," her social worker said gently, "Honey, I'm sorry I am going to have to tell you something that you aren't going to like. And you are going to have to be a really good girl for me and do as I say ok?"

Paine didn't move, she stood there with her tiny little fists clenched together and stared off looking at nothing in particular. She hated when people called her honey. She hated when people tried to handle her with kiddie gloves.

"We are going to have to place you with another family. I am so sorry to have to move you again but we really have to do this honey. But the good news is that we already have a family for you and they want you to move there today. "

She didn't know what to say. She never knew what to say in this situation. This wasn't the first time that they had switched her foster homes. People didn't want a kid that wasn't bubbly. They wanted those fun adventurous one and that wasn't Paine. She felt like she was born with her eyes open. She saw things that kids her age didn't. This time wouldn't be any different than the others, they would keep her for a few months and then exchange her for a new one. So she would do what she always did, silently go and wait for the next trade.

"Look on the bright side hun, one of your classmates is going to be part of your new family," she continued. " You girls will have so much fun together. I just have a good feeling about it this time. And if you ever need anything the I am here for you and so is the entire staff here at school."

This was different. There had never been other children before. It had always been just her. She wondered who it could be. Paine didn't want another sister. She just wanted Dona back and then she would be happy.

"Honey, you know Rikku, right?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I own nothing except the things that come from my very own imagination. Enjoy.

Best Friends For Never

Chapter Two

Rikku sat on her bed feeling anxious. She didn't know what it was going to be like having Paine at her house. Was she really going to live there and for how long? Paine had never been nice to her. She remembered the first time that she had ever even tried to talk to her and she had just glared. Her eyes were like giant rubies. And she just had a scowl on her face. Would she even want to play dolls with her? Or work on machina with dad? She hoped that Brother wouldn't be as mean to her the same way he was mean to her and all the other kids that they took in.

Her mom was always taking in new kids. Maybe it was because when her mom was a kid she was an orphan because of Sin and she felt really bad about it. Rikku didn't mind having other kids stay with them. She rather liked having new people to play with her all the time. But Paine wasn't nice. She didn't know what was wrong with her but she really wasn't nice. She wished that Gippal hadn't moved away. She really wanted him to come back but since his dad got promoted they had to move to the western expansion. It was in the middle of nowhere. It was just like a tiny settlement. It was nothing like Home.

"Rikku," her mother called.

"Yes mommy?"

"I want you to be extra nice to Paine, ok?" he r mother said as she sat down next to her. "She has had it really rough and she doesn't have any family left and she is a very sad little girl."

"But mommy, she isn't very nice you know! I'm in her class at school! I tried being nice to her and she just ignores me. I am never mean to her! Ever!"

"I know my love. Sometimes it takes a little bit of work to break down some people's walls and let them know that you really care about them."

"I guess. I mean I could try. Am I going to have to share my room with her?"

"No," she chuckled. "She is going to have her own room but you will have to share your bathroom with her. I don't want to torture the poor girl by forcing the poor girl to share a room with Brother. I wouldn't even make you do that."

"I hope he isn't mean to her the way he is to everyone else."

"Me too. You stick up for her ok? I know that it's hard for you but you are eventually going to have to honey. You can't let him bully you forever and I won't always be here to fight your battles for you, ya know."

"Can I help you make up her room before she gets here? She can have one of my chocobo plushies."

"See, that's really nice of you and of course you can."

Paine stood in her new room and looked around. The walls had clouds painted on them and there was a vibrant yellow sun painted on the ceiling. Her new foster mom was a very bubbly person. She was very enthusiastic about her being there. But they all were that way in the beginning. There was a stuffed chocobo on the bed. It reminded her of the one that her mom had once given her before she passed away. Paine sat down on her bed and began to cry. She felt so alone. She didn't want to be all alone anymore. But she didn't want to let people in because they would all just leave anyways.

Wiping the tears from her eyes she rose and went to the bathroom to wash her face. She didn't want anyone to know she had been crying and ask her questions. They were all nice enough but when people felt like something was wrong they forced you to do things you didn't want to do like go see the councilor. Paine hated that. She didn't see how drawing pictures and talking about them was going to get her family back. So what was the point in talking about it?

After washing up, Paine readied herself for dinner. She had been told that the whole family had dinner together every night and that she had to be there.

Sitting down at the table, Paine gazed at the people around her. Rikku's mom was really pretty. She had long wavey blonde hair with beaded braids intertwined into it and her swirling eyes were the same shade of green as Rikku's. She was very tall. Taller than Rikku's dad. She kept forgetting their names. She just knew that they called her brother "Brother" for some reason. She wondered if that was his real name or if that was just something that they called him. But then they didn't call Rikku "sister". That was a little odd. What kind of family had they given her too?

"So Paine, how are you settling in?" Rikku's mom asked. "Is everything ok in your room? Do you have enough blankets? Towels? Toys? Is there anything that I can get you?"

"Everything is fine," she whispered. She really didn't like talking. She felt in unnecessary to talk about things that didn't matter. She missed the days when she and her father would train with their swords. They had taken hers away. Her social worker said that it was inappropriate for a little girl to have a sword. She had told them that her father was a Guardian and they had laughed. Someday she would be a Guardian and help save Spira from Sin. She could never figure out how she had ended up in Bikanil. Her family was from a long line of devout Yevonites. Her older sister Dona was even at a private school within the temple studying to become a Summoner. Someday when she was older she would be the greatest Guardian ever and she would go on a pilgrimage with Dona.

"Paine? Paine?" Rikku called pulling her from her thoughts. "Are you sure you are ok? You know if you are scared you can sleep in my room tonight with me."

Paine's eyes went wide at Rikku's comment. "Me? Scared? Of what?"

"I don't know. The dark? I have a night light!"

"I am not scared of the dark! I'm not a baby you know! I can take care of myself." And with that Paine hopped up from her chair and ran to her room.

Rikku was shocked by Paine's reaction. She was almost the same age as her and she was still afraid of the dark. it wasn't a big deal. And she was just trying to be nice. "Mom, I really think that she doesn't like me. I don't know what I did but she really doesn't. All I do is make her mad."

"Oh honey, it is ok. It will take time. She is in a new place and she just needs time to adjust. "

"Ok," Rikku replied as she put on her pajamas. She climbed in to bed and her mom began to sing her a lullaby and before she knew it she was fast asleep dreaming of hover crafts, sand dunes, and teddy bears.


End file.
